Monsters Within
by Amity Pines
Summary: Sequel to A World Away. Rana has been away from Gravity Falls for a year now. She's finally ready to go back. But when she arrives, she learns that she's made a serious mistake. If she doesn't fix this soon, she doesn't know what will happen. And that's what scares her the most. All Rana knows about her future anymore (if it exists) is that nothing will ever be the same.
1. Mistakes

A/N: I am very excited to be making the sequel to A World Away. I didn't want to spoil anything but I kind of have to, as I will absolutely be playing with my favorite Gravity Falls AU. It's going to be my own twisted version, so don't worry about originality. You'll be able to guess pretty quickly as to what it is. If you haven't read my first story yet, you are going to want to, because otherwise you will have no idea what is happening.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gravity Falls, because if I did, it would still be running.

And Dipcifica probably would've been confirmed.

Anyways….

Chapter 1: Mistakes

-Rana POV-

It'd been a year since I'd first left Gravity Falls. At least I could catch them for the last week or so of summer. I was excited to show Mabel and Pacifica all of the souvenirs I had found in all of the other worlds I'd been to. I had gone to other worlds before, of course, but I was always with the agency then. Now I was alone, and I didn't have to follow orders. I could take what I wanted from other worlds, within reason. It's not like I was going to steal things – fine – valuable things.

I was also wondering how everyone would react to my new – um – look. It had been a whole year, so I'd changed a little. My hair was now cut right below the chin. I had also taken to wearing a lot of black in the past year of traveling. There was a lot of running involved. Today I was wearing a long-sleeved black T-shirt with black leggings and a pair of black sneakers. I needed to be able to move quickly. The other thing I was hoping that at least the twins wouldn't notice was the necklace I was wearing that featured the prison box with my sister inside.

I wasn't happy about that little bit, but it was necessary. She was a danger to everyone and everything I cared about, and this was the only way to keep her from hurting anyone.

I looked down at the necklace. There was an odd spiral pattern on each side. I grabbed a small black backpack with a large blue pine tree surrounded by an even larger white whole note. I had made it when I first returned to my home world in memory of everything I'd left behind. But now I was going back.

I slipped on a black hoodie, pulled the hood over my head, and grabbed the portal remote. Before pressing the correct buttons to send me back to Gravity Falls, I took one last look at my apartment. My bed looked completely abandoned, covered in dust and stripped of all the sheets and blankets and pillows. The posters for all of the different bands that Serena obsessed over were everywhere, covering nearly every inch of our walls.

Then I looked over to Serena's bed. The pillowcases were dotted with little skull designs, and the sheets were the exact same pattern. And sitting on top of her bed was Serena herself, concern in her eyes.

"Rana, are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

I sighed. I really would've loved for her to come with me. She's my best friend after all. But I needed to go alone. It had been such a long time since I'd seen all my friends in Gravity Falls, and I wasn't sure how everyone would react to bringing my best friend along. I wanted to focus on having an incredible last few days of summer with them. No distractions.

But there was one thing I could do. I pulled out my cell phone and gestured for Serena to take out hers. She reluctantly pulled it out and placed it in my hand. Within seconds a blue fire erupted from my hands and both of our phones. As soon as the fire disappeared, I handed Serena's phone back to her. When her only response was a confused stare, I explained what I had just done.

"There. Now if I need backup, I just need to say it and my phone will send a distress signal to yours. Got it?"

She nodded. But then she asked the most pointless question I'd heard in my life.

"Couldn't you just call?"

I sighed before I gave my annoyed answer.

"Possibly, but there is a strong possibility that the barrier between the two worlds would stop a normal phone call."

Then I smirked.

"Plus, who would want to have to dial?"

We both smiled and shared a quick hug before we said our goodbyes.

"I'll miss you, Rana. But I hope you have fun. Say hi to everyone for me! And please don't almost get yourself killed this time."

The smiles that had vanished completely returned as I said my last few words before returning to Gravity Falls.

"No promises. But I'll try. See you in a week or so."

"See you."

With that, I pulled out the remote and I pressed the correct combination of buttons. Suddenly my surroundings transformed. I was no longer in my bedroom, but in the middle of the clearing where I killed my brother. There was a fresh summer breeze and the trees and the flowers surrounding me created a breathtaking view, but the sight of this clearing still brought an uneasy feeling.

The tree and the music note were still there, but the half note had become a whole. Everything that had happened there was racing through my head at a million miles a minute.

First it was finding my powers. Then it was when we discovered the prophecy. Then it was the fight where everyone thought I died. Finally as I started remembering the final battle, I burst out of the clearing towards the Mystery Shack.

I was so focused on getting away from that clearing that I barely noticed when I'd finally reached the front door to the Mystery Shack. When I finally looked up to see the wooden door to the Shack I had stayed in the summer before, I couldn't help but smile. Inside I could hear movement so I knew they were inside. In fact, the Shack should've been open. But when I tried to push the door open I found that it was locked.

That was quite odd for the Mystery Shack. It should've been open by now. But it wasn't. I was curious as to why they would have the door locked, but I knocked anyway. I needed to get inside even more now, because something had to be wrong.

The thing that really left me in a panic, though, is what happened when I knocked on the door. I heard lots of footsteps and then everything went silent. Okay. Now I knew something serious was going on.

"Dipper? Mabel? It's me, Rana! Come on, let me in!"

There was no response. Not even a whisper, or even more footsteps. There was only silence.

"Alright. I'm teleporting in. You can't keep me out forever."

In seconds a blue fire surrounded me, and less than a second later, I was inside the Shack. Nobody was in sight. I decided to look around. They had to be inside there somewhere. First I checked the attic. They were nowhere to be seen. I checked the whole place before I realized the most likely place that they went.

I headed towards the vending machine. As I punched in the password, I heard footsteps behind me. I chased the sound of footsteps to the door, which was wide open. Just as the door came into my view, I saw an odd-looking silhouette in the doorway. It turned towards me for a fraction of a second, but then it turned away and ran into the woods.

Whatever that thing was, it seemed to know me, and it probably did something to the Pines. That was all I needed to know for me to chase it. It was unnaturally fast, but I had magic on my side. I tried chasing it on foot for a while, but it didn't take me long to realize it would be impossible.

A blue fire surrounded me and soon I was directly in front of the creature. It was half human, half animal. It was so dark in this part of the forest that I couldn't tell exactly what kind of animal or what its face actually looked like.

But when it spoke, chills ran through my spine. And I knew I had made a mistake.

"Don't you dare come near me!"

It started to back away. I couldn't stop it. I couldn't even move.

 _Oh no._

A/N: This was such a fun story to make. I am so excited for all of the new adventures that Rana is going to get into. Can you tell what AU it is yet? Have you figured out who the mysterious silhouette is? Tell me what you think in the reviews and favorite and follow to find out all of the answers!

Riddle: Killed her brother. Hurt her friends. The monster inside her brought love to an end.


	2. Changed

A/N: Sorry for the wait, guys. I had some trouble with this chapter, and it couldn't be fixed until recently. Luckily, though, I figured everything out and am ready to write! So here you go!

Chapter 2: Changed

-Rana POV-

As it backed away, all I could do was hope that I was wrong. That couldn't have been his voice I heard. There was no possible way. He was still in the Mystery Shack. He had to be.

But I heard him. He was there. The chances that the creature I had seen wasn't him were quite slim, even if they were existent.

There was always one way to find out.

By the time I was able to move again, the creature was gone. Yet I vaguely saw the direction he – it – went in. With only a glance I knew the truth.

Then there was the blue fire.

Then I was in the clearing.

And so was he.

He was standing next to the tree. I still couldn't see him, but I knew that if there were any chances of the creature being anything else, they were gone. He came to the tree.

He came to the tree that brought us all this trouble. He knew that I wouldn't want to follow him here. What he didn't know was that I would do it anyways. I stepped closer. There was suddenly a wind pushing me backwards.

Of course, he had magic. He didn't want me to get to him. But that only meant I needed to try harder.

I pressed further, the wind pushing my hood off, determined to push me back. Yet I kept on going. As I drew near him, he seemed to get stronger. The wind had quickly become too strong to push through on foot. I was so close, yet there was no way I would ever reach him. I looked to the ground. My hands were balled up into fists and I was losing ground. So I did the only thing I could. I jumped.

The wind pushed me back against a tree at the edge of the clearing. The impact was so hard that I lost consciousness. But not before I saw his eyes. I wish I hadn't. All of the hope that was in them before had disappeared. All the love that he usually showed to me vanished. There was no trace of the boy from the summer before. It was my fault.

I opened my eyes the second I regained consciousness, but soon realized how awful an idea it was. The world was spinning faster than that stupid creature.

Wait.

As memories flooded back from the rest of the night, my head began to hurt even more than it had from the original impact. The creature was Dipper. Was that even possible? Of course it was. I saw him, just now.

I didn't want to believe it.

I didn't have a choice.

When I could finally open my eyes and get a good look at my surroundings, I noticed a few things. One, I was still in the clearing. Two, Dipper was not. These were expected, but the third thing I noticed was not exactly as predictable.

There was a small journal, nearly identical to the three journals that Ford had used to record all of his findings in Gravity Falls. The only difference was that instead of a golden, six-fingered hand on the cover, there was a blue pine tree.

I had already had enough of these symbols by now. All that had happened with them was a bit traumatizing for me. Still, I stood, shakily, and slowly took a few steps toward the book. Then I sat down next to it, and picked it up. My hands didn't seem to want to open the cover, but I forced them to anyways. As I reluctantly turned to the first page, my heart stopped for a few seconds. This felt wrong, but it was what he wanted. This is what I read.

 _Day 1:_

 _Rana left. Right after we defeated Bill, she fell to the ground. Then her weird friend came and took her away. I can only assume she's home now. The thing is, after she fell, she let off some sort of magic blast. Now everyone's, well, different. All I can describe it as is "monsters". That's what we are now. We're monsters. I don't know what we're going to tell mom and dad._

 _Mabel says Rana will come back. She thinks she'll find out what happened and come back to save us. Honestly, that's all the hope we really have right now. I'll look for a cure, but I don't know how successful I will be. I doubt she'll come back any time soon. How would she know? She won't have reason to come back. Still, as it's our only true hope, I have to believe she'll be back. She's the only one who can save us._

A tear drop fell onto the page. How long did it take him to stop trusting me? He had hope at first. I should've checked in sooner. I should've given them a way to contact me if they needed my help. I should've done _something!_

But I didn't.

I let it happen. I let them lose hope. I could've saved them. But I didn't.

I stared down at the page that brought so much apprehension, so much sorrow. I quickly observed that it was stained with more than just my own tears. There were old tear stains from the apparently many horrible times that Dipper read over the first page of his journal with a deep contempt for me and everything he said about me. All the trust he had in me, gone. Regret filling its place. Regret that he had ever trusted someone who was so obviously untrustworthy.

I wasn't sure if I could still save them. When a curse like that sits for a long time, it doesn't just get better. It gets worse. Not to mention I had no idea what I had actually done to cause this.

I froze as the thought struck me.

If it got worse, and I couldn't save them, then they could die that way.

I was suddenly overcome by anger. It wasn't directed at Dipper. It wasn't directed at Rayla or Mrs. Matthews. It wasn't even directed at Bill.

It was all directed at me.

As I thought about the many things I'd messed up in one year, I barely noticed the rustling in the leaves around me. But I never forgot my training, and I always knew what was happening around me.

With the knowledge that one of the people I had left behind was watching me, I didn't know what I could do.

So I screamed.

"I DIDN'T KNOW! I didn't know."

A/N: I really am very sorry that I am so very late. I hope you'll be okay with a not-so-frequent update schedule as I have a lot to work on right now. I will continue to write this story and maybe even a prequel as well. It will probably be in another category and using a few new characters of my own as well. If you want to see it then just keep a lookout for new stories from me, because this wasn't even the beginning.

Riddle: Some parts of the past really are forgettable.


	3. Apologies

A/N: Surprise! I got sick so I had time to work on another chapter! I hope that my suffering can bring you joy.

Chapter 3: Apologies

 _Day 2:_

 _Grunkle Stan called mom and dad. Dad wasn't home, so mom answered. She was surprised, but not as much as you'd expect her to be. It wasn't like she just found out that her kids are stuck in a small town in the middle of nowhere, but more like she found out her kids had been kidnapped and held ransom. Come to think of it, that may be sort of the case._

 _Whatever turned us into monsters has also created a barrier around town. Nobody can leave. Mom is going to come soon, but what if she can't get in? What if the barrier goes both ways? Dad won't be coming. Mom says she's going to tell him we're just staying in town for a while longer. He won't think twice about it. He'll call once or twice, but it's not like he'll find the time to try to visit us. That is if it's even possible for anyone to visit._

 _Come to think of it, I haven't seen any tourists lately._

-Rana POV-

Tears streamed down my face, tiny waterfalls of emotion. I looked around, knowing that I was being watched. I heard a rustling sound from the trees on the far side of the clearing, and suddenly Dipper was running towards me. I expected him to be angry, and he had every right to be.

Instead, he extended his hand to me. I reluctantly reached out to grab it. It felt like a thousand lightning bolts surging through me, but it wasn't magic, it was feeling. It was love, relief, maybe even happiness. It was one short moment, but it was enough. From that moment on, I was determined to save my friends. They wouldn't continue to suffer because of me. Not when they were so kind about it.

He sat down next to me and sighed.

"Rana, did you really not know until you got here?"

The tears that had just barely stopped began to flow freely again, and I shook my head.

"No. I had no idea. If I did, I would've come immediately."

We locked eyes for one short moment before he looked down at his four legs, which were new to me, but he'd had them for a year now. I'd seen his eyes, wide and desperate, and I knew that I would risk my life to save him, his sister, his friends, everyone.

It surprised me, though, when he looked back up, his wide eyes suddenly filled with confusion.

"Then why did you come back?"

I stared him right in the eyes, and grabbed his shoulders, one of the few things still identifying him as human. I couldn't risk not getting this point across.

"I came back because I love you and I missed you. Look, you don't know how much I wish I'd known about all of this. You don't know how much I wish I could've saved you before now. It's going to be harder now, but now that I'm here, I'm going to help you."

I forced a smile.

"And nobody's going to stop me."

At that, he smiled. Seeing him happy turned my smile into a genuine one. I pulled him into a tight hug, and when we came apart, he seemed to notice something.

"That necklace, I recognize it from somewhere. I think aunt Jessie used to wear one like it when we were little. Where did you get it?"

I stared at him. He couldn't be serious.

"Dip, this necklace is a prison box. It's the one Rayla used to lock up my best friend from home. It's Rayla's prison now. I can guarantee you, unless your aunt is in some seriously dangerous magical business, she does not have this necklace."

His jaw dropped. No doubt he'd forgotten about Rayla and Bill and my stupid family. He had bigger problems to deal with.

"I'm so sorry, Rana."

I shook my head.

"It doesn't matter. Let's go find your family. I need to see the full weight of the problem before I can start working on a solution."

He nodded, and he led me towards the Shack. I walked the whole way in silence. I didn't want to believe the truth of the matter.

But I knew it. I knew the full weight of the situation.

I'd seen it all over the internet before I'd come to this world.

I caused the monster falls au to become reality.

That thought was so heavy in my mind that I ran into the door. I shook the thought away and put my hand on the handle. As I turned it, I realized that nothing would ever stop me from winning this. Not even the odds.

I pushed the door wide open. When we walked through it, I saw everyone. I saw Mabel, a mermaid, with a pink, scaly tail and a pink bikini top, sitting in a tank just big enough for her to submerge herself if necessary. I saw Wendy, who was now covered in fur, with sharpened fangs and a pair of wolf-like ears on the top of her head. Everyone was different, but it was exactly as I expected.

All of their desperate eyes found me. I forced myself to look everyone in the eye before I looked back down at my feet again. There had to be a way. I would find a way. It didn't matter that this curse was cure-proof. I would risk anything and everything for these people.

But first I would need to call for backup. It was time for Serena to really see Gravity Falls.

A/N: I really want to thank those of you who stuck with me for this. I hope that I have been visibly growing in my writing skill as it has nearly been a year since I first started the first one. If you notice something I am doing well at or something I could do better at, please tell me in the reviews. I'll never do better if I don't know how I'm doing.

Riddle: A curse that can never be broken may one day be undone, but to break the laws of magic may just break the strongest one.


	4. Hopeless

Chapter 4: Impossible

 _Day 3:_

 _Mom tried to come. Emphasis on "tried". I was right about the barrier. It works both ways. She's in the hospital now because of us. She crashed her car into the barrier and she hit it hard. The barrier threw the car backwards into the trees and destroyed it almost completely. We're probably just lucky she's alive. It's not like I've seen her since the accident, though, so I can always hope she's alright. The issue with that idea is that hope is very rare to find in Gravity Falls right now. This might be worse than weirdmageddon!_

 _If this journal ever gets into the hands of someone who can save us, then please come quickly. We found Wendy in the woods last night. She's a werewolf now. When I found her, she almost killed me. Stan swooped in just in time, but neither one of us knew it was Wendy until morning. She and I both ended up injured. She says that she's transformed every night since the burst. I'd love to say it will be okay, but it won't. We're all losing hope. Even Mabel isn't smiling nearly as much. Somebody please…_

 _Help us._

-Rana POV-

It had been a week since I came back to Gravity Falls. I had spent nearly the entire week trying to find a way to cure the town. My attempts had been unsuccessful. Every ounce of free time that I actually had was reserved for reading Dipper's journal. At the moment I was in Mabel's bed - which was mine for the time being, as she couldn't exactly use it in her condition - and I was reading the third page of the journal. Dipper was in his bed, curled up with his legs tucked underneath him. Mabel was in her tank across the room from Dipper's bed.

The two of them were half asleep. I didn't sleep much. I found that I didn't need to. It was all okay, though. It left much more time for me to learn about our little situation. I found that it was nearly hopeless, but I was hopeless once too. I should be dead, but here I am. Hopeless meant next to nothing to me. So I whispered.

"You're wrong, Dipper."

He fidgeted a bit and then looked up at me.

"What?"

Okay then. He wasn't asleep. I looked him in the eye and sighed.

"I said 'you're wrong'. There's still hope. Everything _is_ going to be alright and I _will_ fix this."

He gave me a confused stare which turned into a look of realization as he groaned.

"It's really weird that you're reading that journal, you know. That was day three, right? That was a year ago. Now that you're back, the hope is coming back too. I already know I was wrong, Rana. I've never been happier to be wrong in my life, either."

I started to smile. It began as a sad smile, but then it grew happier and happier until it was the brightest smile I'd worn since my return. Dipper smiled as well. Seconds later we both erupted into laughter.

Just then, Serena burst into the room with a frown on her face. She'd been sleeping in the room where I stayed the year before. She said she'd be studying as late as she possibly could. She must've been working before she came in. She was barely breathing. Whatever was wrong must have sent her running for us.

"Rana, why didn't you tell me?"

I froze. What was she talking about? She seemed to be getting even more worked up as she went. Whatever I didn't tell her, she found it quite important. She continued, nearly in tears.

"I was reading up on the laws of magic. Rana, this was important. I know you remember every last bit of our training. I know you studied the laws of magic. So why didn't you tell us that our cause is hopeless?"

I wasn't even breathing anymore. I studied Dipper's face, looking for his reaction. He was staring at me like a deer caught in the headlights. (A/N: I'm so sorry, I couldn't stop myself.)

"What's she talking about, Rana?"

Serena had a pleading look in her eye. I wasn't getting out of this explanation any time soon. I took a deep breath and prepared for a long night. I let my eyes sweep the room in a second and noticed that Mabel was awake now. Serena probably woke her. I looked to my feet.

"The laws of magic are something every agent learns at the very beginning of their training. Not many really need to remember most of them. Many are basic knowledge even to the average sci-fi or fantasy geek, like the paradox law and a few others. Some are more complicated and less known, like the monster law."

I paused. Tears were threatening to escape my eyes. I didn't want to set them free. Tears are pain. Once you let them go, it becomes easier to let pain go. I didn't want to let the pain go. If I did that, then my friends would see it. Of course these tears weren't just pain. These tears were secrets. They were secrets that were already being forced out of me anyways. I let them go. It didn't take long. It was a few sobs. Everyone else in the room never let their gaze drift even the slightest bit away from me. I continued.

"The monster law states that any monster or being with dark magic can never win in the end. That's why all these bad things keep happening to you."

I took a deep breath, a feeble attempt at calming myself down. Of course I failed. I was barely able to speak the next bit through the never-ending sobs.

"It's all because you're connected to me. I'm a monster. I have dark magic. The only reason we won against Bill was because he was like me."

I finally looked each one of them in the eye. Serena was afraid for the first time in a long while. Mabel's poor sweet innocent eyes were filled with sadness, yet there was a hint of determination, of hope glimmering in them. I knew in an instant that she would never give up on us. That was one of the few things left that could keep me going. My gaze rested in the deep brown eyes of Dipper Pines. He had the same expression that he wore whenever I lost hope.

"And I had you. If you have just one human with a sufficient amount of light in them, then you can finally win. It's like a loophole. The problem that we're facing remains that you all are monsters now as well. We don't have one human left on our side. We don't even have anyone with light magic. That's why Serena said that our cause is hopeless. _Technically_ it is."

I had stopped crying by that point and even had a slight smile creeping its way onto my face. Hope is spread through the ones who have the most of it. Sometimes that person needs a good refill. Of course by then the people around them have plenty to give, though, don't they? I took a deep breath and went on.

"Now here's the thing about the laws of magic. They're like the laws of physics in that they can't be broken, and like the laws of government in that there are consequences for the rare few who figure out how. Of course I _could_ always let myself suffer the consequences, unless…"

Mabel and Serena were obviously waiting for the answer, but Dipper seemed to get it. He grinned and finished for me.

"Unless we can get a human on our side!"

I nodded. Dipper and I both watched as Serena and Mabel slowly realized what he had said. It only took a moment for Dipper to dampen the mood he had created.

"Except the barrier won't let anyone in _or_ out. What do we do about the barrier?"

I thought for a moment. I was pretty sure I could take down the barrier for a few seconds. I had studied it a little bit after reading about it in Dipper's journal. The magic used to create it seemed to have been mine. It shouldn't have been that strong though. The magic that created it was the same as the magic that created the barrier that kept Bill inside.

Wait a minute.

"The barrier has been here since before I ever came."

It came out as a whisper. I never meant it to escape at all. Yet it continued, and it got louder.

"That barrier wasn't created by me. It was created a long time ago. It kept Bill in and now it's keeping us in. It's stronger now for some reason. Maybe it's due to the fact that there are so many more monsters here."

Everyone's eyes widened at the idea. Mine did too when I realized the next secret about the barrier. I gasped and then let it out.

"And it was to save you. Whoever created it knew everything. They knew Bill would try to take over. They knew you would all be turned into monsters. That means that they knew I'd come here. They also knew something I don't think we've taken into account."

Everyone was staring at me expectantly.

"They knew that the people outside would be afraid of you. They put it up to protect you because they knew that you had no chance against the people outside. They knew that the monster law would get you killed within weeks. They had it all planned out."

Dipper and Serena were looking towards their feet or hooves, respectively. Mabel, on the other hand, was smiling. She took my questioning look as an invitation to explain her thoughts. She wasn't wrong.

"So that means they planned a way to get a human in here too, right?"

We all stared at her in awe. How is it that she was the only one to figure that out? That night really was an emotional roller coaster, and in that moment we all went up again. Serena laughed and looked Mabel in the eye.

"You are way cleverer than people give you credit for, you know that?"

Mabel smiled so widely that her eyes closed.

"Yep!"

We had been through so much that night that we didn't laugh. We just sighed. It was a relieved and happy sigh, though. I found Dipper's once again happy eyes and asked him a question.

"So you say you're mom knows about all this?"

He nodded. So I responded.

"Then call her. It's about time we get some good news."

A/N: I am so excited about this story now. I know that there are some parts that I'm horrible with. Trust me, I'm working on it. This story is about to get interesting. Also, no, the barrier is not a reference to Undertale. I just didn't know what else to call it that wouldn't take an unnecessary amount of extra time to type. I'm lazy. Get over it.

Riddle: The one from before will return and the one from the present will disappear. A past full of secrets now contains even more and the world full of evil will fall to its core.


	5. Stubborn

Chapter 5: Stubborn

 _Day 4:_

 _That's it. We're alone. There's no way we're ever getting out of here. Great Uncle Ford and I have been doing some research, and there's still not even a clue as to how we might fix this. Mabel's lucky, I guess. She's actually having fun as a mermaid. The rest of us don't have it so great. We found Pacifica hiding out in the woods. The only obvious difference was snakes for hair. Of course we figured out pretty quickly that it was more than that when we noticed that she wouldn't open her eyes. She told us that she'd turned her mom into stone, and then her dad kicked her out of the house. She'd been in the woods since it started._

 _It sounded like she didn't want to be around people. She didn't want to hurt anyone else, but she couldn't handle it out there on her own. She begged us to let her keep on attempting to fend for herself, but we weren't about to let that happen. Actually, I would've been fine with it, but Mabel wouldn't shut up about how she helped us last summer when Rana was here. I may be angry, but I'm not evil, so I gave up and let Pacifica stay with us. She still can't open her eyes, though._

-Rana POV-

I stood at the edge of the barrier, not daring to get any closer. We were ready for the first glimmer of hope in all of Gravity Falls ever since their first attempt at this. We had called Dipper and Mabel's mom and gathered everyone we could find for the second try at bringing a full human into the town. Dipper was at my right, all four of his new legs shaking at the thought of what happened last time. Mabel was at my left in her tank, her tail swishing back and forth in excitement. Her smile was wide as ever, no doubt in her mind that this would work. Pacifica stood on the other side of Mabel, eyes still closed due to her newfound "power". Wendy was on the other side of Dipper, her expression underneath all the fur was determined as ever.

We knew how heavily our situation relied on this plan working. We knew that we would be doomed if we failed. One thing they didn't know, however, was that it was much worse than they thought. If I failed, then things would only get worse. They would continue to transform until they were no longer monsters, but no longer people either. Dipper would become a simple deer. Mabel would likely become some kind of fish, most probably a dolphin or something. Wendy would be a wolf by day as well as night.

You get the idea. I had their lives in my hands, again. I looked over at the lone figure on the other side of the barrier. She was fairly tall, probably about a half a foot taller than me at the moment. Her long, curly brown hair was swept into a ponytail that fell down over her right shoulder. Her eyes were the same warm, chocolatey brown as those of her children and her gaze was so full of love, no matter who it was directed at.

She seemed to be in her mid-to-late thirties, but her eyes seemed so old and wise that they just didn't seem to fit with the rest of her. And yet no matter how odd and out of place those eyes were, they were the most beautiful thing about her. The light blue jacket she wore paired with a pair of simple jeans and some light brown boots made her seem even more loving and caring than she already looked to be. Everything about her screamed "mother", and you immediately felt a little calmer just by looking at her.

This was the woman who raised the Pines twins. I took a deep breath and looked into her eyes. She nodded in reassurance and I gave her a quick nod back before I lifted my hand and put it as near to the barrier as I dared to let it get. I thought about everybody that I'd be failing if I couldn't break this barrier. I thought of all of the people I would lose.

Finally, I thought of everything that the woman in front of me would lose if I couldn't do this. I thought of how awful it would be to lose both of your kids like that. Then, the fire came, and it grew stronger than it ever had before. I started to feel like I was drowning in my own magic. I kept going. I kept going until there was no way for me to continue. When I dropped to the ground I gasped for air. It took a while for me to be able to look up and see the results.

For a moment the only thing I registered was that the barrier was still there and I panicked. Then I noticed the person-shaped hole in it that was quickly closing up. Seconds later an unfamiliar hand reached out to help me up. My eyes slowly followed the arm up to the person who was attached to it. I smiled and let out a sigh of relief when I realized that it was none other than Mrs. Pines herself. I reached out my hand to grab hers and let her pull me to my feet. Her eyes began to tear up at the same time as mine did, and we both said the same thing at the exact same time.

"Thank you."

And then Dipper came running, dragging Mabel's tank along with him, and I was included in the first Pines family group hug in a very long time. Pacifica and Wendy watched in awe, but Serena stood from behind us, smiling as she finally arrived on the scene of the miracle we had just conjured.

A/N: I've got to be honest. Half of this was done absolutely horribly and the other half I'd consider some of my best work. Oh well, at least half was good. Sorry this isn't being updated frequently. This year I'm taking all honors classes and it's killing me. Winter break is the only reason you're getting anything right now.

Riddle: The eyes so old with a body young will confuse so many and make sense to some. Time is spent but paid right back. But what was so bad that you would get rid of it?


	6. Reunited

Chapter 6: Reunited

 _Day 5:_

 _I'm going to stop writing these for a while. We're going out into town to find out how bad it's gotten out there. After that, I'm going to put all of my focus into finding a way to reverse this. Mabel still wants to wait for Rana to come back and help us, but I just don't think she will. She came for the summer, made us trust her, and left us for dead. We don't need her. I can fix this on my own._

 _And if she ever does come back, I'll have to protect my family from her. She is a demon, after all. I shouldn't have expected anyone related to Bill Cipher to be anything but evil._

-Rana POV-

I sat on the front porch of the Mystery Shack, staring at the stars. It was probably past midnight, but I didn't notice or care. Of course I couldn't sleep. There were so many things going through my head at the moment. It felt good to look at the stars. All of that space out there was proof that there would be something after all of this. There had to be.

I stared down at my bare feet. It was getting sort of cold out, but I didn't want to go back inside. That was where all of my failures would be able to look me in the eye. I thought of going back for some slippers, but quickly rejected the idea in favor of simply putting my feet underneath me.

The black leggings I wore were warm enough, and the dark red robe I had slipped on over my black tank top would keep the cold out for another hour or so. Once I was perfectly satisfied, I looked up at the stars again. I let the flood of emotions and memories flow free for a while. It was getting stressful to hold it back all the time.

The thoughts all came at once, yet they stayed for a lifetime. What if I failed? What if I was wrong? I probably was wrong. Mrs. Pines was probably not enough. I'd come to Gravity Falls to save these guys, not ruin their lives. I'd been reading Dipper's journal from the past year. I knew what he thought of me. He was right, too. There was never any chance that things could go well.

All I could feel was a burning hatred, not for myself, but for whatever I had become. Soon, that feeling washed away, leaving behind a trail of regret. I didn't hate what I was, but I despised what I had done. I finally let myself feel all of the emotions that I'd been holding back for as long as I'd been back. For the first time since who-knows-when, I was letting myself be my unfiltered self. And for the second time in Gravity Falls, I showed the reason that my brother had called me "half note".

I sang with all of my heart.

 _I've failed you_

 _I know_

 _I want to make things okay_

 _But I know that it will never be_

 _And I know that we will never see_

 _The day when joy will prevail_

 _The moment evil will fail_

 _For the first time_

 _In a long, long while_

 _I apologize_

 _For the times when I_

 _Was oh so wrong_

 _I apologize_

 _For the times when I_

 _Failed miserably_

 _I apologize_

 _For the fact that I_

 _Was oh so wrong_

 _I apologize_

 _For the fact that I_

 _Failed again_

 _And as the new evil comes_

 _I fail to see_

 _Why you still seem_

 _To care for me_

 _I apologize, my friends_

 _As this round comes to an end_

 _I shouldn't have let it come this far_

"I haven't heard you sing in a while. It's been a little over a year, as far as I can remember."

A soft voice from behind caught me by surprise. I jumped to my feet and turned towards the voice, instinctively assuming a defensive position. When I saw who it was, I took a deep breath and let my guard down. Serena stood there, her red hair draped down her back, still wearing the ripped jeans and T-shirt she seemed to always be wearing. I sat back down on the steps, and waited for her to do the same.

Once we were both on the steps, I took a deep breath.

"Serena, what if this doesn't work? How am I supposed to live with myself if this doesn't work?"

She paused for a moment, looking thoughtfully at the stars above us. She stared for a while, humming as she thought, and soon her expression hardened into determination.

"You don't. This is going to work. Even if our plan miraculously fails, we will find another way. You got that, Rana? We're going to win this."

I closed my eyes and nodded. If I gave up, we'd never get anywhere. I let a sad smile race across my face for a few short seconds. I opened my eyes and found them staring right into Serena's. A tear slid down my cheek. Serena flashed me the most sincere smile she could muster and looked back towards the door.

"Hey Mrs. Pines! You can come out now."

My confusion was obvious. I looked to the door and saw Mrs. Pines standing there, her expression unable to decide whether it was overstressed or overjoyed. She was wearing a pair of sky blue leggings and a sweatshirt of the same color. As I stared, slowly trying to process what was happening, Serena disappeared inside as Mrs. Pines took her place.

"That really was a nice song, Rana."

I smiled and muttered a quiet "thanks".

"You know you don't have to try to handle this whole situation on your own, right?"

I looked down at the grass, which looked a little less green and more of a dull gray in the pale moonlight. I stared at the colorless ground for a while until I found the words to say what I kept on thinking. I looked up at Mrs. Pines and nodded.

"Yeah, I know. I just can't shake the feeling that it's all because of me. I mean, it's not like I'm wrong. I caused this. I don't even know if it's possible to reverse it. I'm going to lose your kids, Mrs. Pines. Are you not the least bit angry about that?"

She seemed to consider this for a while, before looking me directly in the eye with this intense stare that you could tell she'd gained over her years of being a mother.

"No. You know why? I understand you. I've felt this before. I've done this to people myself. I know exactly how awful that this guilt feels. I know that you're not going to feel okay unless and until this is over. Don't worry, Rana, you're not alone. We're all here with you."

The two of us exchanged smiles. Once mine had faded from happy to slightly okay, though, hers had extended into a huge grin.

"Oh, and you're welcome for that escape portal last year. I don't think you'd have survived this long without it. What have you been using my remote for lately anyways? You've probably just been travelling recklessly. Then again, who could blame you?"

As her grin became more and more mischievous, my confusion began to morph into awe.

"Call me Lily. And don't tell Mrs. Matthews you saw me. I'm not sure she likes me very much right now."

My jaw dropped to the floor. No, it dropped past the floor. It probably hit the center of the earth before I gathered my wits and found my words again.

"You're Lily Wood. You're the one who gave us that remote? You were here this whole time? People think you're dead!"

She nodded, her grin never fading.

"You can't really blame me for that. Well, you sort of can. I'm pretty sure I've broken three laws of magic. Therefore I've gotten three severe consequences. One of them just happened to be getting trapped here."

I nodded slowly. I was starting to understand, barely.

"So you've broken the laws of magic before? Does that mean you have magic?"

She tilted her head a little.

"No, but I did for a while. It's complicated. And it happened a long time ago. I'd give anything to see the guys from that world again."

The questioning look I gave her was all she needed to answer.

"It's the first world that I ever went to; the first portal to ever be opened, or at least to be used. I've been through a lot too, Rana. Don't you forget that."

I smiled a rare and genuine smile.

"I promise I won't."

And we both knew that we could trust each other. We both knew that we had hope.

A/N: I swear I'll try to update more often but school is pretty much my life right now sorry.

Riddle: Rules are broken, time is bent. Nothing will ever be right again.


End file.
